More voices heard, social concerns addressed in local legislation

BEIJING -- Besides China's widely watched national legislative moves, it is also noteworthy to examine the underlying trend in local legislatures.

Over the past year, local legislative outreach offices have notably increased in number, enabling more people to conveniently express their expectations for future laws and offer relevant suggestions.

More legislative resources have been directed to formulate rules that will meet people's desire for a better life, address common social concerns, and provide institutional support for local economic and social development.

GREATER PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

In 2022, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC) established 10 more local legislative outreach offices in 10 provincial-level regions. Together with the 22 local legislative outreach offices already set up by the commission since July 2015, the legislative outreach offices now cover all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities on the Chinese mainland.

The top legislature's move has inspired standing committees of provincial and municipal people's congresses to establish more than 5,500 legislative outreach offices at their respective levels, making it more convenient for the public to reach lawmakers and contribute their wisdom to legislation.

In central China's Hunan Province, its nine provincial-level legislative outreach offices helped in putting forward more than 1,000 suggestions for over 60 draft national laws and local regulations.

The Xiaobailou neighborhood office in north China's Tianjin Municipality was designated as a legislative outreach office a year ago. It has solicited public opinions on seven pieces of legislation so far.

"We went to the residents' doorsteps to listen to their most genuine thoughts, and thus developed democratic lawmaking in a profound, proactive, and extensive way," said Yang Yi, secretary of the Party working committee of the Xiaobailou neighborhood.

By enabling the convenient participation of the grassroots, the outreach office mechanism embodied the concept of developing whole-process people's democracy and raising the efficiency of state governance.

ADDRESSING SOCIAL CONCERNS

Local legislators have kept a close eye on people's immediate concerns and have prioritized legislative solutions to these issues on their agenda.

In September, North China's Shanxi Province rolled out a set of pioneering regulations on community and home-based care services for the elderly.

China has entered an aging society, with more than 200 million people aged 65 and above by the end of 2021, accounting for 14.2 percent of the total population.

Over the past year, local legislation for promoting home-based old-age care services mushroomed across the country, including Huzhou and Jinhua in Zhejiang Province and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province. Hunan Province released rules on helping the elderly dine at home or designated venues via online and offline services.

Apart from elderly care, local legislators pay great attention to a wide range of issues of social concern.

In Guangdong Province, a set of standard rules for promoting Cantonese cuisine were released in November.

East China's Fujian Province laid down a five-clause regulation forbidding primary and middle school students and kindergarten kids to bring cell phones into class, winning applause from society.

In order to tackle issues such as the ecological protection of rivers, epidemic containment, and transportation integration, cross-regional coordination on legislation is necessary.

Beijing, its neighboring port city Tianjin, and Hebei Province have introduced nearly 60 coordinated legislative items over the past years, taking joint actions in tasks facing the region, including automobile pollution and the protection and passing on of the Grand Canal culture.

"Local legislative organs, with the goals and tasks set forth at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China borne in mind, should analyze the legislative needs for Chinese modernization and better align legislative decisions with those for reform and development in the coming years," Xu said.